Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election, 1979

Map of the results for the 1979 Wigan council election. Labour in red, Conservatives in blue and the Liberals in yellow.

Elections to Wigan Council were held on 3 May 1979, with one third of the council up for vote as well as an extra vacancy in Ward 22. The election seen Labour strengthening their grip, with six gains - mostly in the wards they lost seats in at the 1975 election - and one loss. All but one of the gains were from the Conservatives, with the other being from the Liberal's sole seat in Ward 14. A Liberal gain in Ward 15 from Labour kept them represented on the council. Owing to general election on the same day, turnout was significantly up, to 75.7% and all wards were contested - a continuation of the feat started last election.^[1]

Election result

Wigan Local Election Result 1979
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	21	6	1	+5	84.0	55.7	96,617	+1.4%
	Conservative	3	0	5	-5	12.0	37.9	65,756	-5.7%
	Liberal	1	1	1	0	4.0	5.0	8,646	+3.3%
	Residents	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.3	2,328	+1.3%
	Communist	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.1	154	-0.1%

This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the Council after the elections:

Party		Previous council	New council
	Labour	51	56
	Conservatives	19	14
	Liberals	1	1
	Independent	1	1
Total		72	72
Working majority		30	40

Ward results

Ward 1 (Lindsay-Scholes-Whelley)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Pratt	4,517	67.2	+4.3
	Conservative	C. Giles	2,206	32.8	-4.3
Majority			2,311	34.4	+8.7
Turnout			6,723	74.4	+40.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.3

Ward 2 (Poolstock-Worsley Mesnes)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Antill	4,643	66.8	-0.0
	Conservative	R. Rogers	2,311	33.2	+0.0
Majority			2,332	33.5	-0.1
Turnout			6,954	70.0	+40.8
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.0

Ward 3 (Gidlow-Swinley-Whitley)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. France	3,989	47.8	-22.7
	Labour	K. Green	2,423	29.0	-0.5
	Residents	M. McElligott	1,244	14.9	+14.9
	Liberal	P. Davies	691	8.3	+8.3
Majority			1,566	18.8	-22.2
Turnout			11,297	73.9	+39.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	-11.1

Ward 4 (Beech Hill and Marsh Green)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	N. Turner	4,869	70.7	+2.2
	Conservative	W. Banister	2,016	29.3	-2.2
Majority			2,853	41.4	+4.4
Turnout			6,885	72.7	+43.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.2

Ward 5 (Highfield and Lamberhead)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Smith	4,886	59.0	+6.6
	Conservative	A. Foster	3,395	41.0	-6.6
Majority			1,491	18.0	+13.2
Turnout			8,281	73.3	+47.2
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.6

Ward 6 (Newtown and Rose Hill)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Milligan	4,327	70.3	+3.7
	Conservative	R. Bell	1,830	29.7	-3.7
Majority			2,497	40.6	+7.5
Turnout			6,157	71.4	+43.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.7

Ward 7 (Hope Carr)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Powell	2,960	53.6	-2.6
	Labour	H. Smith	2,564	46.4	+2.6
Majority			396	7.2	-5.2
Turnout			5,524	77.5	+34.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.6

Ward 8 (St Pauls and St Peters)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Roberts	4,269	67.5	+4.8
	Conservative	W. Lackenby	1,902	30.1	-3.6
	Communist	H. Kedward	154	2.4	-1.2
Majority			2,367	37.4	+8.5
Turnout			6,325	69.7	+42.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.2

Ward 9 (Etherstone and St Marys)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Caley	3,760	55.7	+9.1
	Conservative	H. Yates	2,989	44.3	-2.3
Majority			771	11.4	+11.4
Turnout			6,749	74.5	+41.4
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+5.7

Ward 10 (Lilford-St Josephs-St Thomas)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Jones	3,440	51.3	+8.5
	Conservative	M. Wood	3,260	48.7	-8.5
Majority			180	2.7	-11.7
Turnout			6,700	76.0	+35.7
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+8.5

Ward 11 (Golborne St Thomas and Lowton)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. Strett	4,120	50.2	-7.9
	Conservative	T. Thompson	3,131	38.2	-3.7
	Liberal	A. Nixon	949	11.6	+11.6
Majority			989	12.1	-4.2
Turnout			8,200	77.7	+37.0
	Labour hold		Swing	-2.1

Ward 12 (Golborne Heath Park and Ashton)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Miller	4,540	64.5	-0.4
	Conservative	J. Harrison	2,503	35.5	+0.4
Majority			2,037	28.9	-0.8
Turnout			7,043	78.8	+42.1
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.4

Ward 13 (Ashton-in-Makerfield North and West)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Lyons	3,755	65.9	+3.1
	Conservative	B. Smith	1,941	34.1	-3.1
Majority			1,814	31.8	+6.2
Turnout			5,696	75.4	+39.9
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.1

Ward 14 (Ashton-in-Makerfield Central and East)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. McEntegart	3,815	55.1	-1.6
	Conservative	S. Hibbert	3,110	44.9	+1.6
Majority			705	10.2	-3.2
Turnout			6,925	75.0	+42.5
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing	-1.6

Ward 15 (Standish with Langtree and Shevington)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	J. Pigott	4,043	40.7	+18.9
	Labour	J. Hardy	3,327	33.5	-6.2
	Conservative	E. Howard	2,555	25.7	-12.6
Majority			716	7.2	+5.8
Turnout			9,925	80.7	+38.5
	Liberal gain from Labour		Swing	+12.5

Ward 16 (Aspull)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Singer	3,860	47.8	+1.8
	Conservative	J. Blackledge	3,122	38.7	-9.3
	Liberal	E. Hill	1,093	13.5	+7.5
Majority			738	9.1	+7.1
Turnout			8,075	80.5	+38.8
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.5

Ward 17 (Atherton North East)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Murphy	4,712	65.9	-6.2
	Conservative	M. Sharland	2,434	34.1	+6.2
Majority			2,278	31.9	-12.4
Turnout			7,146	73.5	+39.4
	Labour hold		Swing	-6.2

Ward 18 (Atherton South West)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Sumner	2,891	56.3	+8.8
	Conservative	W. Perrin	2,246	43.7	-8.8
Majority			645	12.5	+7.5
Turnout			5,137	77.8	+35.7
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+8.8

Ward 19 (Hindley Central and North)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Robinson	3,826	68.2	-0.3
	Conservative	M. Lunt	1,457	26.0	-5.5
	Liberal	P. Gibbons	328	5.8	+5.8
Majority			2,369	42.2	+5.2
Turnout			5,611	75.8	+44.9
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.6

Ward 20 (Hindley South East and West)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Wynn	5,214	62.2	+6.4
	Conservative	J. Culshaw	3,167	37.8	-6.4
Majority			2,047	24.4	+12.8
Turnout			8,381	75.4	+47.1
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+6.4

Ward 21 (Ince-in-Makerfield)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Banks	5,627	73.7	+2.0
	Conservative	M. Jones	2,008	26.3	-2.0
Majority			3,619	47.4	+3.9
Turnout			7,635	69.5	+37.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.0

Ward 22 (Orrell and Billinge)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	F. Fairbarn	4,958	42.1	-13.2
	Labour	R. Capstick	4,198	35.6	-9.1
	Conservative	M. Fox	4,040
	Labour	E. Nickeas	3,567
	Liberal	J. Fitzpatrick	1,542	13.1	+13.1
	Residents	C. Hughes	1,084	9.2	+9.2
Majority			760	6.5	-4.1
Turnout			11,782	84.4	+48.7
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.0

Ward 23 (Tyldesley - Shakerley)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	F. Hampson	3,220	50.8	+2.8
	Conservative	H. Davies	3,114	49.2	-2.8
Majority			662	9.5	+5.6
Turnout			6,966	76.6	+39.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.8

Ward 24 (Tyldesley - Astley Green and Blackmoor)^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	F. Hampson	3,220	50.8	+1.8
	Conservative	H. Davies	3,114	49.2	-1.8
Majority			106	1.7	-0.3
Turnout			6,334	80.4	+39.0
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.8

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 "Wigan Council results from 1973 to 2008" (PDF). wigan.gov.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-30.

(1978 ←) United Kingdom local elections, 1979 (→ 1980)

Metropolitan boroughs	Barnsley Birmingham Bradford Bolton Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton

District councils (England)	Adur Allerdale Alnwick Amber Valley Arun Ashfield Ashford Aylesbury Vale Babergh Barrow-in-Furness Basildon Basingstoke and Deane Bassetlaw Bath Beaconsfield Berwick-upon-Tweed Beverley Blaby Blackburn Blackpool Blyth Valley Bolsover Boothferry Boston Bournemouth Bracknell Braintree Breckland Brentwood Bridgnorth Brighton Bristol Broadland Bromsgrove Broxbourne Broxtowe Burnley Cambridge Cannock Chase Canterbury Caradon Carlisle Carrick Castle Morpeth Castle Point Charnwood Chelmsford Cheltenham Cherwell Chesterfield Chester-le-Street Chester Chichester Chiltern Chorley Christchurch Cleethorpes Colchester Congleton Copeland Corby Cotswold Craven Crawley Crewe and Nantwich Dacorum Darlington Dartford Daventry Derby Derwentside Dover Durham Easington East Cambridgeshire East Devon East Hampshire East Hertfordshire East Lindsey East Northamptonshire East Staffordshire Eastbourne Eastleigh Eden Ellesmere Port and Neston Elmbridge Epping Forest Epsom and Ewell Erewash Exeter Fareham Fenland Forest Heath Forest of Dean Fylde Gedling Gillingham Glanford Gloucester Gosport Gravesham Great Yarmouth Grimsby Guildford Halton Hambleton Harborough Harlow Harrogate Hartlepool Hart Hastings Havant Hereford Hertsmere High Peak Hinckley and Bosworth Holderness Horsham Hove Hull Huntingdon Hyndburn Ipswich Kennet Kerrier Kettering Kingswood Lancaster Langbaurgh Leicester Leominster Lewes Lichfield Lincoln Macclesfield Maidstone Maldon Malvern Hills Mansfield Medina Medway Melton Mendip Mid Bedfordshire Mid Devon Mid Suffolk Mid Sussex Middlesbrough Milton Keynes Mole Valley New Forest Newbury Newark Newcastle-under-Lyme North Bedfordshire North Cornwall North Devon North Dorset North East Derbyshire North Hertfordshire North Kesteven North Norfolk North Shropshire North Warwickshire North West Leicestershire North Wiltshire North Wolds Northampton Northavon Norwich Nottingham Nuneaton Oadby and Wigston Oswestry Oxford Pendle Penwith Peterborough Plymouth Poole Portsmouth Preston Purbeck Reading Redditch Reigate and Banstead Restormel Ribble Valley Richmondshire Rochford Rossendale Rother Rugby Runnymede Rushcliffe Rushmoor Rutland Ryedale Salisbury Scarborough Scunthorpe Sedgefield Sedgemoor Selby Sevenoaks Shepway Shrewsbury and Atcham Slough Spelthorne South Bedfordshire South Cambridgeshire South Derbyshire South Hams South Herefordshire South Holland South Lakeland South Kesteven South Norfolk South Northamptonshire South Oxfordshire South Ribble South Shropshire South Staffordshire South Wight Southampton Southend-on-Sea Spelthorne St Albans St Edmundsbury Stafford Staffordshire Moorlands Stevenage Stockton-on-Tees Stoke-on-Trent Stratford-on-Avon Stroud Suffolk Coastal Surrey Heath Swale Tamworth Tandridge Taunton Deane Teesdale Teignbridge Tendring Test Valley Tewkesbury Thamesdown Thanet The Wrekin Three Rivers Thurrock Tonbridge and Malling Torbay Torridge Tunbridge Wells Tynedale Uttlesford Vale of White Horse Vale Royal Wansbeck Wansdyke Warrington Warwick Watford Waveney Waverley Wealden Wear Valley Wellingborough Welwyn Hatfield West Derbyshire West Devon West Dorset West Lancashire West Lindsey West Norfolk West Oxfordshire West Somerset West Wiltshire Weymouth and Portland Wimborne Windsor and Maidenhead Winchester Woking Wokingham Woodspring Worcester Worthing Wychavon Wycombe Wyre Wyre Forest Yeovil York

District councils (Wales)	Aberconwy Afan Alyn and Deeside Anglesey - Ynys Môn Arfon Blaenau Gwent Brecknock Cardiff Carmarthen Ceredigion Colwyn Cynon Valley Delyn Dinefwr Dwyfor Glyndŵr Islwyn Llanelli Lliw Valley Meirionnydd Merthyr Tydfil Monmouth Montgomery Neath Newport Ogwr Preseli Radnor Rhondda Rhuddlan Rhymney Valley South Pembrokeshire Swansea Taff-Ely Torfaen Vale of Glamorgan Wrexham Maelor

Referendums	Scottish devolution Welsh devolution

See also: UK General election European Parliament election

Council elections in Greater Manchester

Bolton	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015

Bury	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015

Manchester	1945 1946 1947 1949 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015

Oldham	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015

Rochdale	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015

Salford	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015

Stockport	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015

Tameside	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015

Trafford	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015

Wigan	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015

Greater Manchester	1973 1977 1981 Abolished

See also: Wards Boundary changes

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